Competition in the U.S. Auto Industry

INTRODUCTION In early 2000, the automotive retailing industry seemed on the front edge of fundamental change. For a number of years, there had been rumblings of dissatisfaction among vehicle buyers with their purchasing experiences at local franchised dealerships. Many customers felt price haggling and high pressure sales tactics distasteful or intimidating. Automakers were looking at ways to overhaul their franchised dealer networks to squeeze some of these distribution inefficiencies out of the industry value chain. But …

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